1.5 million Brazilians meet Pope at Copacabana

Pope Francis arrives on the popemobile at Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Copacabana beachfront on Thursday (Friday in Manila) for his welcome to World Youth Day ceremonies. AFP PHOTO

RIO DE JANEIRO: A huge crowd of 1.5 million Catholics greeted Pope Francis on Brazil’s Copacabana beach on Thursday (Friday in Manila) after the pontiff toured a notorious Rio slum to defend the cause of the poor.

Latin America’s first pope was confronted with starkly contrasting images of life in the tropical metropolis on the fourth day of his visit to Brazil, from its ritzy seafront to its impoverished hillside favelas.

A teeming swathe of young Catholics joined dancers swaying to samba beats on Copacabana for World Youth Day, braving cold rain and wind to cheer the Argentine-born pope who has championed a “poor Church for the poor.”

“I always heard that the Cariocas [Rio residents] didn’t like cold and rain. Your faith is stronger than cold and rain,” the pope said as he was treated to religious choirs, samba songs and dance routines.

Pope Francis repeated a theme of his weeklong visit, urging young Catholics to shun the trappings of materialism and put Jesus Christ at the center of their lives.

“Possessions, money and power can give a momentary thrill, the illusion of being happy, but they end up possessing us and making us always want to have more, never satisfied,” he said.

Vatican officials have made no secret of the fact that the pope’s first trip abroad since his election aims to re-energize his flock. While Brazil remains the world’s biggest Catholic country, its flock has shrunk while Evangelical churches grow.

The massive beach ceremony followed his visit to one of the city’s notoriously violent slums, where he waded into Brazil’s tense political and social debate over corruption and social injustice that erupted in massive protests last month.

“Dear young friends, you have a particular sensitivity towards injustice, but you are often disappointed by facts that speak of corruption on the part of people who put their own interests before the common good,” he said.

“To you and to all, I repeat: never yield to discouragement, do not lose trust, do not allow your hope to be extinguished,” he told thousands gathered on a muddy soccer field in the rain-drenched Varginha.

Brazil was rocked by the largest street protests in two decades last month, when more than a million people took to the streets to condemn corruption, poor public services and the cost of hosting the 2014 World Cup.

During the beach event, some 500 people held an anti-corruption protest in front of the Rio state governor’s luxurious apartment building.

The 1,000-resident Varginha slum is one of a dozen favelas where police have evicted drug gangs and restored security ahead of next year’s World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.